About Me

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Savvy Suiting

I love a man in a
suit…..scratch that…..I love a man in a GOOD suit, a GREAT suit, we’re talking
Tom Ford Black with a crisp white shirt underneath (nice little article about
it here), a pair
of Bulgari cufflinks and some Valentino shoes.
Throw on a Hermes tie and you’re good to go. If I were a man – and I’m very happy I’m not
– I would go full on every day, because the alternative is so much
drearier.

Esquire is the top google hit
for style advice for workwear for men.
Unfortunately whoever takes care of their fashion section is rubbish,
they advise men to saunter into the office wearing a hot pink and white stripe
shirt, with a red and navy silk paisley tie.
Get real Esquire. People who wear
suits usually have to be in the office for 7 AM and the last thing they want to
think about is trying to mix and match stripes and florals. (The picture is too
ugly to put on my pretty post but you can see a tiny portion of the fashion
train wreck below).

To Avoid this....

My tip.
Keep it simple!

If you are a conformist, an
investment banker, a lawyer, a medic, a public servant or a business man in the
traditional sense, then there is very little room for manouvre around the
confines of the stereotypical suit.
Barristers may be the exception to the rule (as are headhunters). I’ve met two men throughout my life who find
it necessary to wear three piece suits every day. Personally I wonder what they wear at
weddings and black tie events, but it’s probably a top hat with a cane no
doubt. Anyways both of these men were
quite ahem rotund….and looked slightly foolish. They both were pompous, had small man
syndrome and had read the food pyramid upside down. My point is leave the three piece suit at
home unless you are Prince Charles or Harry.

Different professionals in
various industries and even countries are prone to a few different fashion
crimes. Here they are done out in an
excel sheet….(Professionals LOVE excel….it makes me kind of dizzy)

Origin

Fashion Crime

Middle Eastern

Trying to look like John Travolta in Grease but in a suit: Too
tight, too greasy, too shiny. Wet look
hair gel is so over

American

Dressing like its Independence day, every day of the week. We are over the red, white and blue
combo….please get over it too

British

Horrible shoes. Go to
Italy, find the oldest man in Milan and get him to tell you how important
Italian leather shoes are…pronto!

Indian

Brown suits, it is not camel, it is brown, and it is not the
70's anymore

So what should a man wear to
work? After living and travelling in a
variety of different countries and previously working in the banking sector I
have come up with a formula. It’s easier
for the bankers to understand it this way.

A = One ridiculously well tailored suit, if in Asia get it tailored, if not go into
Hugo Boss, and if you’re really serious about the process go into Tom
Ford. My choice is black – other people
may say otherwise, but a black suit will always get my attention and looks very sharp...if it's good enough for Mr. Bond...

B = Crisp white shirt, personally I don’t see the point in
getting shirts tailored, and you do not need to spend a fortune on this aspect
of the outfit. Save the money that you
don’t spend here for the Hermes Tie you’re about to buy. Marks and Spencers or Thomas Pink shirts will
suffice. Buy five, one for every day of
the week. Ask any woman and she’ll tell
you that you cannot go wrong with a white shirt on a man. Try out different materials, different white patterns and have fun...but only in the white department of the store.

C = The most important part. ACCESSORIES.
I cannot stress it enough. Inès
de la Fressange (Chanel muse and fashion superstar) has always emphasized the
fact that looking stylish is all about the accessories upon a simple
canvas. So invest in that Hermes Tie,
try out a cravat! Invest in classic yet
unusual accessories and cufflinks. Buy
that tie pin, moneyclip, Bally man bag and let your accessories do the talking
for you.